Summarize the questions
Question 1
Karl Stern criticizes the contemporary psychology in support of mechanistic aspect. Eh states that psychoanalysis gives the ability to acquire a human base for awareness to human transcendence to God (Hart, 2011). Through this, Stern states that the humanistic aspect was based on Victor Frankl’s philosophy of being. Women have played varied roles in humanistic psychology more so in experience and methods of knowing. They have been known to subdue nature and advancing individualism, differentiation and abstraction. It has been to comprise masculine attributes like control and self-sufficiency (Szałek, 2012). According to ilene serlin and Eleanor criswell the aspect of humanism was grounded on modern experience and did not recognize women, children and other small groups. Consequently, human psychology had to be based on ecosocial matrix that restored the human aspects to the earth. However, these feminist were insensitive to power and social aspect. However, the womanist aspects moves us to go above experience to autonomy and change.
Question 2
Stanley Milgram’s classic study of obedience performed an experiment to determine the power of authority and obedience. The method involved 40 paid men who were passed through electric chock for a wrong answer. The results showed that the level of shock the participants were willing to go through was assessed based on obedience. In this experiment went through maximum shocks while the rest stopped the process (Oltmanns, & Emery, 2010). The experiment has ethical issues in the sadistic act on the set rules of an authority: the presence of authority led to increase in compliance. Most of the subjects were agitated but still went through with the instructions. There however increase in rebellion led to a decrease in obedience levels. The experiment was able to change the participants to be torturers of other individuals. It is argued that the experiment were modelled as bureaucratic microcosm and did not lay basis to obedience to authority but how people were able to manage an intense moral issue. hat In regards to the holocaust, it could be that Eichmann and the other people were following orders. While technology was seen as a factor that could affect human psychology and their conscience was control by the fear of pain leading to obedience.
Question 3
David Rosenhan experiment involved 8 sane people that tricked 12 psychiatrist centers in US. They however stopped showing signs of insanity but none of the hospital staff noticed. Additionally, the pseudopatients had the feeling that none of the staff were concerned of how they felt. The findings stated that the nurses had bias. This is related to Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow and others through existential views that affected humanistic tendency. Through, they state that people try to acquire the value of existence and those that appreciate every moment live each period as mentally healthy. Life in mental hospitals was noted to have issues of psychological aspect that desired change and the impacts of negative attitudes to treatment (Barlow, & Durand, 2005). The health professionals though criticized the move as being unethical due to deception, it took keen measures on how it handled mental patients.
Question 4
In the pathology of normalcy and sane society, Fromm discusses ‘positive’ mental health hence criticizing cultural relativity and its description of health as changes to the norms of a society. He applies ‘alienation’ as the tool for treatment as a sociological aspect (Funk, 2000). While the art of loving is criticized where he talks about the ‘androgynous’ persons.
Both Rogers and Maslow focused on humanistic psychology that was keen on human behaviour and mind. Contrast arose in that Fromm believed in human autonomy while Rogers and Maslow belief human was affected by some force that was authority. Fromm goes on to discuss the ideological ‘idea’ of existence where he specifies the impact of human language using verbalism a psychoanalysis aspect.
References
Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (2005). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach. (4th ed.). New Delhi: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Funk, R (2000). Erich Fromm: His Life and Ideas, an Illustrated Biography. New York: Continuum.
Hart, C. (2011). Paul Tillich and Psychoanalysis. Journal of Religion &Health, 3 (50), 646-655.
Oltmanns, T. F., & Emery, R. E. (2010). Abnormal Psychology. 6th ed., New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Szałek, P (2012). The notion of transcendence and psychoanalysis in Karl Stern’s works. Polish Psychological Bulletin. 43(4), p. 324–332,
